Expert review

Amy Bradney-George is the acting editor for Finder X and a senior writer for credit cards and Finder Green. She has more than 13 years' experience as a journalist and writer, with bylines in publications including The Equity Magazine, The Sydney Morning Herald, ABC News and produce industry website FreshPlaza. Amy has a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Drama from Griffith University, and when she’s not putting (virtual) pen to paper, she spends her time as an actress.

Expert Review

Review by

Amy Bradney-George

This low-cost card gives you a way to earn flybuys points faster by offering 1 point per $2 spent when you use it to shop at Coles supermarkets. It also includes your flybuys membership details on the back of the credit card – so you only have to pull out one card when you’re shopping with flybuys partners.

Expert review

This low-cost card gives you a way to earn flybuys points faster by offering 1 point per $2 spent when you use it to shop at Coles supermarkets. It also includes your flybuys membership details on the back of the credit card – so you only have to pull out one card when you’re shopping with flybuys partners.

Why you can trust this review

At Finder, we value and respect our editorial independence. We keep our reviews completely factual so you can use them to make better decisions. While we may receive revenue and referral fees from advertising and affiliate links, advertisers do not approve our reviews.

How to apply

You can apply for the Coles Low Rate Mastercard online and you will get a response within 60 seconds of submitting the completed application form. Get started by making sure you meet the eligibility requirements and have all the documents and details you need to complete the application.

Eligibility criteria

Minimum income. You must earn at least $25,000 per year.

Eligible balance transfer debt. If you are planning to transfer a balance to this card, you can transfer up to 80% of your available credit limit from Australian accounts not issued by Citigroup.

Residency. You must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident.

Age. You must be at least 18 years old to apply.

Credit rating. You must have a good credit rating.

Required documents

Personal details. This includes your full name, date of birth, email address, phone number, residential address, marital status and number of dependents. You also need to provide a valid form of ID, such as your driver's licence or passport.

Employment details. This covers your salary, job title, length of employment and your employer’s contact details. You may also need to provide supporting documentation, such as recent payslips, to help verify these details.

Financial details. This includes any other forms of income and assets, such as pensions, government payments or savings. You also need to provide details of existing debts, loans, cards and regular household expenses, including utility bills, petrol and groceries.

Balance transfer details. If you want to take advantage of the balance transfer offer on this card, you need to provide details including the amount of debt you want to transfer, the financial institution’s BSB, the account name and the account number.

flybuys membership number. You need to provide your flybuys membership number when you apply so that your membership barcode can be printed on the back of the credit card – and so you can earn points per $1 spent when you use the credit card to shop at Coles. If you’re not already a flybuys member, you can sign up for free.

Card benefits

Points for shopping at Coles. This card offers you flybuys points when you use it to shop at Coles Supermarkets, earning the equivalent to 0.5 points for every $1 spent. Note that points are awarded in whole numbers and are rounded down.

flybuys benefits. The Coles Low Rate Mastercard also doubles as your flybuys membership card, so you don't have to carry two separate cards. Instead, you can scan the flybuys membership barcode that's printed on the back of your credit card to earn points directly through the flybuys program. Rewards include $10 off your Coles supermarket shop when you redeem 2,000 flybuys points, flybuys travel bookings and a variety of other rewards available on the flybuys website. If you earn or redeem points at least once every 12 months, your flybuys points do not expire.

Balance transfer offer. Consolidate your debt with 0% p.a. interest on balance transfers for the first 6 months when you apply by 31 August 2020. Any balance remaining at the end of the introductory period will accrue interest at the variable cash advance rate, currently 19.99% p.a. Note that you won't be eligible for interest-free days when you have a balance transfer.

Coles Mobile Wallet App. This free app for Android and iPhone allows you to manage your account and flybuys points 24/7. All Coles credit cards are also compatible with Apple Pay and Samsung Pay.

Rates & fees

Annual fee. This low rate Mastercard attracts an annual fee of $58.

Interest-free days. If you pay your account’s closing balance in full each month, you can get up to 55 days interest-free on purchases. Interest-free days are not offered for cash advance transactions and are not available when you have a balance transfer on your account.

Cash advance rate. This card charges an interest rate of 19.99% p.a. for cash advances and is charged from the day you make the transaction.

Cash advance fee. If you use this card to withdraw cash or make any other cash advance transactions in Australia, you will be charged 3% of the transaction amount or $1.95 (whichever is greater). Overseas, a cash advance fee of $5 applies.

Foreign currency conversion fee. A fee of 2.5% is charged for transactions you make overseas or online in a foreign currency.

You’ll be able to use your Coles’ Low Rate Mastercard wherever Mastercard is accepted worldwide but just be aware you’ll be charged a 2.50% overseas transaction fee for all international purhcases and cash withdrawals, whether made in person or online. The card is also chip enabled so you can use the Mastercard PayPass functionality and “tap and go” for purchases under $100.

Hi, as I already apply for my Coles credit card and it was approved but it’s already been like 3 weeks. I sent my details twice as asked but has not received any credit card yet. How can I track what’s happening?

Just to confirm, though, you have come through to finder.com.au, not Coles. However, you can still conduct the balance transfer to move your $6,000 debt to the Coles Low Rate MasterCard by clicking on the ‘Go to Site’ button and completing the online application.

During the application, there will be a section dedicated to the balance transfer. Here you can nominate the account you’d like to balance transfer and provide the details of your debt (including the account it’s coming from and the size of the debt). Whether you can complete the balance transfer will also depend on which bank you’re transferring from. Please note that you can’t transfer balances from existing Coles credit card accounts or other accounts with Latitude Financial Services (such as 28 Degrees MasterCard). As you can transfer up to 100% of the available credit limit, you’ll want to make sure that you apply for a credit limit of at least $6,000.

Please note that you’ll need to make sure that you meet the eligibility requirements, such as the minimum annual income, good credit history and residential status to receive approval.

If your balance transfer is approved, it’ll be your responsibility to close your old account.

You can apply for this card as long as you meet the application and minimum income requirements, which in this case is $25,000.

Before you apply, however, you need to prepare your personal details (complete name, date of birth, marital status, number of dependents, residential address, phone number, and email address), financial details, as well as your current flybuys number, if you have one.

If I apply for the Coles low rates mastercard and apply for the “0% p.a for 6 months” balance transfer. After the first 6 months of the balance transfer ends, what will the interest rate revert back to?

On the Coles website, it doesn’t specifically say what the interest rate would revert back to after the first 6 month period.

For the Coles Low Rate MasterCard, your card will revert to the purchase rate of 9.99% p.a. after the balance transfer promotion period of 6 months. This information is also specified in the table above under Product Details section.

1.How is interest calculated when payment missed by due date and do benefits get lost in any way please provide example worked out as experienced a $5 interest charge became $60.00 (approx) by a bank which included previous interest free balances as part of the calculation, despite those balances all being paid and the o/s balance being fully paid to excess after only 3 days. hence even staff can’t calculate interest payable. they tried but when challenged on how they calculated it was clear they didn’t know what they were doing because the bank ripped off interest on monies which were not, should not be included.
2. and again on purchases how is interest calculated

The credit card interest is calculated depending on what card you have, the type of the transactions you make, and when you make the payments. This is calculated on your account’s outstanding balance on a daily basis.

For instance, you make a purchase for $30 on the third day of your statement period. Interest is calculated on the $30 balance for each day from the date you made the purchase until it is repaid in full. Interest is then added daily to calculate your monthly interest amount.

If you want to have a better understanding about the credit card interest charges, you might like to read this article and find it useful.

Disclaimer - Hive Empire Pty Ltd (trading as finder.com.au, ABN: 18 118 785 121) provides factual information, general advice and services on financial products as a Corporate Authorised Representative (432664) of Advice Evolution Pty Ltd AFSL 342880. Please refer to our FSG - Financial Products. We also provide general advice on credit products under our own Credit Licence ACL 385509. Please refer to our Credit Guide for more information. We can also provide you with general advice and factual information on about a range of other products, services and providers. We are also a Corporate Authorised Representative of Countrywide Insurance Group Pty Limited. ABN 49 625 733 539 AFSL 511363 for the provision of general insurance products. Please refer to our FSG - General Insurance. We hope that the information and general advice we can provide will help you make a more informed decision. We are not owned by any Bank or Insurer and we are not a product issuer or a credit provider. Although we cover a wide range of products, providers and services we don't cover every product, provider or service available in the market so there may be other options available to you. We also don't recommend specific products, services or providers. If you decide to apply for a product or service through our website you will be dealing directly with the provider of that product or service and not with us. We endeavour to ensure that the information on this site is current and accurate but you should confirm any information with the product or service provider and read the information they can provide. If you are unsure you should get independent advice before you apply for any product or commit to any plan. (c) 2020.

Thank you for your feedback.

Our goal is to create the best possible product, and your thoughts, ideas and suggestions play a major role in helping us identify opportunities to improve.

Important information about this website

finder.com.au is one of Australia's leading comparison websites. We compare from a wide set of banks, insurers and product issuers. We value our editorial independence and follow editorial guidelines.

finder.com.au has access to track details from the product issuers listed on our sites. Although we provide information on the products offered by a wide range of issuers, we don't cover every available product or service.

Please note that the information published on our site should not be construed as personal advice and does not consider your personal needs and circumstances. While our site will provide you with factual information and general advice to help you make better decisions, it isn't a substitute for professional advice. You should consider whether the products or services featured on our site are appropriate for your needs. If you're unsure about anything, seek professional advice before you apply for any product or commit to any plan.

Products marked as 'Promoted' or 'Advertisement' are prominently displayed either as a result of a commercial advertising arrangement or to highlight a particular product, provider or feature. Finder may receive remuneration from the Provider if you click on the related link, purchase or enquire about the product. Finder's decision to show a 'promoted' product is neither a recommendation that the product is appropriate for you nor an indication that the product is the best in its category. We encourage you to use the tools and information we provide to compare your options.

Where our site links to particular products or displays 'Go to site' buttons, we may receive a commission, referral fee or payment when you click on those buttons or apply for a product. You can learn more about how we make money here.

When products are grouped in a table or list, the order in which they are initially sorted may be influenced by a range of factors including price, fees and discounts; commercial partnerships; product features; and brand popularity. We provide tools so you can sort and filter these lists to highlight features that matter to you.

We try to take an open and transparent approach and provide a broad-based comparison service. However, you should be aware that while we are an independently owned service, our comparison service does not include all providers or all products available in the market.

Some product issuers may provide products or offer services through multiple brands, associated companies or different labelling arrangements. This can make it difficult for consumers to compare alternatives or identify the companies behind the products. However, we aim to provide information to enable consumers to understand these issues.

Providing or obtaining an estimated insurance quote through us does not guarantee you can get the insurance. Acceptance by insurance companies is based on things like occupation, health and lifestyle. By providing you with the ability to apply for a credit card or loan, we are not guaranteeing that your application will be approved. Your application for credit products is subject to the Provider's terms and conditions as well as their application and lending criteria.